30 Days of Prayer: Pray for Confidence of Faith & Identity (Day 4) - Be Whole, Mom

You’ve probably heard the concept of having your identity in Christ, but maybe you’re like me and still not quite understanding what this idea means fleshed out.  Today’s post will be diving into the foundations of this concept, and is sure to be a great reminder and encouragement in the faith!

Welcome back to the 30 Days of Prayer series!  I hope you have enjoyed the posts so far.

Ever since I left my home at almost 19 years old in commitment to the Navy and began my personal walk with the Lord, I have been on a search to understand the most basic and foundational concepts of scripture.

You see, I wasn’t taught a lot of scripture as a child.  I did not learn the basic tenets of faith, nor did I even actually understand the central figure out Christ in the Story of the Bible until I began my personal journey with God.

Once upon a time my life was a blur of questions unanswered and blocked confusion, but as soon as I turned my eyes upward in search of an answer, He has not stopped talking nor let me down.  The answers have not always been clear on my timing (though He surely loves to do things in His timing – here’s one such story of how perfect that is), nor have they always been what I wanted to hear, but He has surely always answered, one way or the other.

These last few years in the wilderness (if you feel like you’re in the wilderness, this post is for you), though, have been some of the most spiritually refining years of my entire life, and one of the single most significant shifts in understanding that I have received has been coming to an understanding of what this concept means.

So, let’s dive in, examine the scriptures, and see what the Lord has for us!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” ~ 2 Cor. 5: 17

In today’s culture, we use a LOT of labels and words to wrap around people and ourselves as we attempt to “define” them: Fat, ugly, skinny, mom, dad, Christian, unemployed, military, cashier, student, loved, neglected, abandoned, etc.

The words are many.  And, they are not always very kind.

The tongue has the power of life and death….” ~ Proverbs 18: 21

Many of us have had death spoken over us in previous years of our life, often in the formative years.  When this happens we have to go through a purging process with our Abba as He uproots and burns away the unfruitful branches of lies in our hearts.

The pruning process is not always easy, but it is beneficial.

We accomplish this goal through the combined marriage of the faith relationship we enjoy with the Holy Spirit (our heavenly covenantal marriage, reflected by an earthly covenantal marriage) and the reading of and obedience to the Word.  The Word is effectively used by the Spirit to awaken our souls to areas in our life that need to be addressed.

First, the Spirit calls to attention the areas of action where we need to adjust.  Second, the Spirit addresses heart attitudes that are not in accordance with the Love of God.  Third, the Spirit addresses our thinking patterns and corrects those that are destructive and counter-productive for a child of God.  Each of these begins the sanctification process in the wholeness of our being (“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” ~ Mark 12: 30).

Thankfully, though, the Spirit is patient with us and provides us with abundant opportunities to work out our flesh areas over and over again as we build new beliefs from the ground up.

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten” ~ Joel 2: 25

But, He is faithful to redeem the years that the locusts have stolen.  Even those of us without a solid original foundation when we entered into His Body can still regain our footing and restore the foundation with the leading of the Holy Spirit through the Word, thanks be to God!  What a gracious and redeeming Abba we have!

We Can Be Confident of This…

…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” ~ Phil. 1: 6

Sometimes we fail to see ourselves the same way our Abba sees us.  While we see ourselves aghast with sinful muck and dirt, He sees us as white as snow (Is. 1: 18).  Though we see our many failures, He has separated us from our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103: 11-12).

The process of sanctification invites us into the relationship to learn how to see things the way our Abba sees them, including ourselves.

Not only does He see us as pure and righteous in Him through Christ, but He also wants to help us to see ourselves that way: purified saints in the Body of the Holy One.

It is out of this change of the mind that we receive our newfound confidence in Him and recognize that piece-by-piece we are becoming more and more like Christ in our bodies, minds, souls, and emotions.  It is a process, but one that He is willing and ready to walk closely with us.

And, as we engage more and more closely with the Spirit, we will have our minds renewed and gradually recognize that we are in fact the new creation we were told we would become in the beginning of our saving faith.

We are becoming a new creation in Him!

Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.  No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” ~ Matt. 9: 17

As we are being renewed in the entirety of our being, we are also bringing in a new creation within us.  Just as a caterpillar completely transforms into a butterfly (see my story of emerging from the cocoon here), we are transforming into the likeness of Christ.

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” ~  2 Cor. 3: 18

Day by day as we read scripture and learn to study it more deeply and intimately, the Holy Spirit will bring it to our minds more and more as we meditate on it and what it says.  This process of reading, thinking over, asking questions, seeking answers, studying scripture, and engaging with our Abba in prayer gently and gradually reveals our true identity in Christ.

What is our Identity in Christ?

Pure.  Clean.  Beautiful.  Loved.  Worth more than rubies.  White as snow.  Royalty.  Priests.  Co-heirs to the throne of Heaven.  Beloved bride.  Sweet friend.  Cared for servant.  Precious child.  Good and faithful servant.  Son or daughter of the Living God.  Made with a purpose and a calling.  Worthy of respect and love.  Glorifying to the King of Kings.  Inherently valuable.  

And so, so, so much more….

Truly our Abba sees us with such a tender and awesome gaze that we must continue to pray to have eyes to see and ears to hear His heart for our lives, over and over again.

Pray for Confidence in the Faith

Sweet sister, our Abba wants to pour into you the glories of heaven.  I know that this world can try to get you down feverishly and often, but still the call is to persevere in the faith.

As you trust and obey the leading of the Spirit, one little action, one little step at a time, your faith will be made stronger and your confidence in the One who is Lord of all will only continue to grow.

Trust Him as He leads you today.

Abba, may I continue to be renewed in our thinking that the confidence that is in Christ, to know that I am loved and purified in Your eyes wholly because of the work of the cross, may this be solidified so firmly in my mind that I cannot be moved!  Strengthen my faith through the works of obedience, and lead me in the Way everlasting.  Amen.

Shalom.

Was this post an encouragement to you today?  Share and comment below.  Your comments mean the world to me, encouraging me immensely, and help me to push onward in this work that the Lord has called me to do.